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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Obama Declares Major Disaster In NYC & NJ Due To Sandy

President Barack Obama declared a major disaster in the New York
City area and New Jersey Tuesday after Superstorm Sandy pounded the
Northeast, killing at least 28 people, sweeping homes into the ocean,
flooding large swaths of coastal areas and crippling public transit.

As the day wore on, millions without power faced the prospect of up
to a week without heat, light or refrigeration, while authorities tried
to measure the full wrath of the once-in-a-generation hurricane.

The deaths included at least 10 people in New York City, Mayor
Michael Bloombergsaid Tuesday, adding "tragically, we expect that
number to go up."

Obama, speaking at the headquarters of the American Red Cross in
Washington, said Tuesday that the federal government would do all it
could to help local authorities cope with damage.

The storm, he warned, is "not yet over ... it is still moving
north.'' The president will visit damaged areas in New Jersey on
Wednesday, the White House said.

Details of the devastation were also becoming clear:

More than 8.2 million homes and businesses were without power across
20 states, and half of the outages were in New York and New Jersey,
according to a tally by the federal government.
NBC News meteorologist Bill Karins warned to "expect the cleanup and
power outage restoration to continue right up through Election Day."

A massive fire destroyed at least 80 homes
in Breezy Point, a seaside community in Queens, N.Y. Firefighters had
difficulty reaching the blaze due to the severe weather. The cause of
the fire was not immediately known.

Ten subway tunnels under the East River in New York City were
flooded, leading MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota to declare: "The New York
City subway system is 108 years old, but it has never faced a disaster
as devastating as what we experienced last night." Subway service was
unlikely to resume for 4 to 5 days, Bloomberg said.

PATH train service between Manhattan and New Jersey is likely to be suspended for 7-10 days, Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday.

Half of Hoboken, N.J., was underwater, preventing emergency crews
from reaching areas of the city, according to Mayor Dawn Zimmer. "We
want people to be aware that it's a very dangerous situation," she told
MSNBC.

A half-dozen nuclear power plants
were shut down or impacted, while the nation's oldest facility
declared a rare "alert" after the record storm surge pushed flood waters
high enough to endanger a key cooling system.